Baldwin Kwan, Research and Innovation, Silverchain
Frances Batchelor, National Ageing Research Institute
Marissa Dickins, Research and Innovation, Silverchain
Sue Williams, National Ageing Research Institute
Tanya Davison, Research and Innovation, Silverchain
 

Technology has become a cornerstone of everyday life over the last decade. The use of smartphones, computers, and wearable devices is increasingly common. This is reflected in the digital habits of older Australians.¹

Data from 2020 show that more than 90% of older Australians have internet access at home, and around four in five use mobile phones to access the internet.¹ Although older Australians receiving in-home aged care services are likely to be older and have more complex care needs, Silverchain research found that nine out of ten in-home aged care recipients owned technology, which they used for everyday activities such as making phone calls (76%), sending emails (56%), and accessing the internet (51%).²

Aged care providers have typically been slow to adopt digital technologies to deliver care in the home.³ Yet,  technology has been shown to improve the quality of care delivered by improving care coordination and access to care, and enabling social interactions for socially and geographically isolated care recipients.^4–6 There are several barriers that hinder uptake within in-home aged care, such as individual, workforce, and system readiness for technology, as well as ethical issues.⁷ Practical tools and strategies are required to address these barriers and help providers successfully implement a range of different types of technology.

Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia funded an academic-industry partnership between the Melbourne Ageing Research Collaboration, led by the National Ageing Research Institute, and Silverchain, a leading national in-home care provider, to address this gap. 

Our team of researchers, in-home aged care workers, and consumer representatives conducted multiple studies and a co-design workshop. Using these inputs, our researchers created an evidence-based Technology Implementation Framework (the Framework), specifically designed for the in-home aged care setting.

The Framework contains seven themes identified in our research:

1. Technology Design Factors and Features
2. Privacy, Security and Trust
3. Training and Technical Support
4. Organisational Design and Culture
5. Aspects of Client Care
6. Digital Literacy
7. Perceived Benefit of Technology

We provide guidance and practical strategies to support technology implementation within each theme. Providers can use the accompanying implementation checklist to summarise relevant implementation enablers and barriers in the context of their service provision. We recommend using this checklist when developing an implementation plan for any type of digital technology.

This Framework represents a contemporary evidence-based guide to help service providers and technology developers understand the intricacies of technology implementation within in-home aged care. We expect it will be particularly useful for providers who are relatively new to using technologies with their clients, such as wearables, sensors in the home, and applications. 

To access the full version of the Framework for Enabling Technology Supported Aged Care at Home, implementation checklist, and supplementary information, please visit here.

References:

1. Source: (Australian Government, Australian Communications and Media Authority 2021) The digital lives of older Australians

2. Source: (Silverchain 2024) Technology Use Survey: National Report

3. Source: (Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety 2021) Care, Dignity and Respect Final report 

4. Lolich et al. (2022) Technology in the Home Care of Older People: Views from Finland and Ireland. J Cross Cult Gerontol 

5. Lu et al. (2025) Impact of the Smarter Safer Homes Solution on Quality of Life and Health Outcomes in Older People Living in Their Own Homes: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res

6. Doraiswamy et al. (2021) Telehealth Use in Geriatrics Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Scoping Review and Evidence Synthesis. Int J Environ Res Public Health

7. Barnett et al. (2019) Technology ageing and aged care: Literature review. Aged Care Industry IT Council

The views and opinions expressed in Knowledge Blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ARIIA, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Dr​ Amanda Adams

Research Fellow, ARIIA

In aged care settings, designing and developing a new technological solution - or repurposing an off-the-shelf one - is challenging. In the ever-evolving health and aged care digital ecosystem, providers are required to understand a new lexicon of terms and acronyms. Mastering the requirements of the Australian digital roadmap is one thing, but designing a useful and intuitive solution for an aged care service requires more than pitching the idea to the organisation to generate buy-in. 

Our latest evidence theme explores the processes, requirements and partnerships required to explore potential digital solutions to finite or wicked problems that impact effective and efficient care provision. Whilst a well-defined development process serves as the backbone for successful implementation and can ensure user acceptance, stakeholders' involvement can account for the complexity, context of use and the flow and collection of data. Taken from evidence and practical guidance, we describe the advantages of co-design with aged care staff, residents, clients and their families, offering insights into the daily challenges. Feedback from these key participants provides the opportunity to tailor robust products. Involving varied and diverse representatives in co-designing activities can ensure that products are easy to use and are integrated into workflows or routines, increasing the chance of successful implementation.

Factors influencing the successful deployment or rollout will also depend on the working structures and relationships between staff and the chosen technology vendor. Selecting a vendor just on price is risky. This choice should consider the developer's previous experience, their awareness of the requirements around interoperability, their capability to employ user-centred design thinking, and their ability to work around your staff, clients and workflows also matters. For many organisations, the need to assess the availability of human resources is equal to assigning a budget for development. In many instances, project managers are needed to facilitate and support the processes, to recruit and maintain working relationships with all the people involved. In many ways, the investment in external or 'nominated' or independent project managers can remove the burden typically felt by staff champions' who balance development and their regular duties.

For technological solutions to be accepted, adopted and sustained within care settings requires a development process and a multidisciplinary team that is user-centred in their approach. Developers and providers need to be open to feedback, good and bad, to continually shape prototypes to meet the needs of users and the business. Testing once is an absolute minimum. Testing across the development process is better, especially if people involved differ in their approach, background, capabilities, digital confidence and literacy levels. Constructive feedback allows for necessary changes before the product is rolled out at scale.

Developing within aged care can reward the organisation, older people and their families. However, there are risks and challenges to creating useful products that can be successfully implemented to influence change positively. For inexperienced aged care staff, maintaining control over the project's delivery and scope is difficult, especially when unsure of what to expect. Visit ARIIA's Developing new products evidence theme to learn more about what is needed, your role and responsibilities during development, choosing a vendor with the right team and process, what is involved in designing solutions, and which co-design and evaluation activities can be undertaken to allow everyone to be involved.

*The views and opinions expressed in Knowledge Blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ARIIA, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.